26 new soy chemicals in 2009

The green blog continues to see the growing use of soybean and derivatives as a renewable chemical feedstock.

Yesterday, the United Soybean Board (USB) released its annual list of soy-based products the U.S. farmer-led organization helped introduce this year. 26 new soy-based products hit the market in 2009, according to the group, which helps provides funding to scientists and industrial partners to research, develop and commercialize products containing soybeans.

Some of this year’s new products include a soy-based wood floor stain from Rust-Oleum, a line of Simmons mattresses that include soy-based foam, and a soy-based degreaser and adhesive remover available at The Home Depot and Ace Hardware.

Others, such as a soy-based adhesive used to manufacture plywood, a soy-based pavement crack sealant and soy-based bioremediation agents used in environmental cleanup, will mostly be utilized by industrial users, according to USB.

“We solicit applications, review the concepts and select them based on their technical merit and market potential,” said Marty Ross, vice chair of the USB New Uses program. “Number one, the product must be technically feasible – can it be done? And, number two, just because it can be done, is it viable? What’s the product’s market value, and how many bushels of U.S. soybeans will it use?”

SoyFoam™ – soy foam for seats/headrests/armrests in the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe, Sonata sedan and the 2009 Kia Amanti sedan, from Lear. Lear will also supply General Motors with SoyFoam for its trucks and SUVs as well as Ford for the seats in the Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKE, from Lear